Citizenship is something that many in the United States likely take for granted. What’s more, it is not likely that most worry about having to prove they are citizens. For those in the U.S. who were born in another nation, this could be a more urgent concern. While documentation can prove that someone is in fact a citizen or has temporary legal status, when that paperwork is lost or destroyed, the life of those individuals can become complicated.
A young woman and her mother, who recently lost their home and immigration documents to a fire, are dealing with this firsthand. Because the daughter applied for temporary legal statues under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the young woman had both a Social Security card and work permit. While she should be able to have those documents replaced, while waiting, she will not be able to work. That leaves the woman, who is in nursing school, unsure of whether she will be able to pay for her education. She is anticipating it will take two months for new documents to be processed.
In the meantime, the woman and her mother are trying to decide whether to apply for aid that FEMA has available. Despite having been told that they need only have one family member in the household who is legal to apply, many fear that placing the full names of all family members on the forms, will result in deportation of those who are not in the country with proper documentation.
Matters like these are all to common for immigrants in the U.S. It is possible that an immigration lawyer could be of assistance to people who find themselves needing help securing proper documentation or other immigration matters.